Wall Street trades deep in red despite Fed's aggressive policy action

• US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says Congress is close to approving stimulus bill.
• Fed commits to open-ended asset purchases to tackle disruptions in economy.
• S&P 500 Energy Index erases more than 4% as oil selloff continues.

Major equity indexes in the US started the new week deep in the negative territory despite the Federal Reserve's aggressive measures to support the economy in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.5% on the day while the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were erasing 1.5% and 2.7%, respectively.

Wall Street ignores Fed's announcement

Earlier in the day, the Fed pledged to an open-ended QE by announcing that it will buy treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in the amounts needed to ensure smooth market functioning.

In the meantime, US Treasury Secretary Mnuching told CNBC on Monday that Congress was very close to approving a fiscal stimulus package but failed to provide a boost to risk-sensitive stocks.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is down 4.3% pressured by a more-than-4% drop in crude oil prices.